August 12th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising the state of Texas for challenging the Obama Administration’s moratorium on deepwater off-shore oil drilling:
“The state of Texas is leading the charge against the Obama Administration’s arbitrary decision to suspend deepwater off-shore oil drilling. After District Court Judge Martin Feldman enjoined the enforcement of the original moratorium as arbitrary and capricious, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar simply resubmitted almost the same exact moratorium with a few minor changes. No where along the way has the Interior Department consulted with affected states, as it is required to do under Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, including Texas.
“Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott deserves the praise of all Americans for refusing to stand by idly as the Obama Administration uses the Gulf oil spill as a pretext to restrict American energy production, and cost the oil industry jobs. The moratorium stands to cost Texas some $622 million in GDP, and $22 million in tax revenue, and puts as many as 190,000 jobs at risk should the moratorium continue indefinitely.
“Texas has also challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s arbitrary finding that carbon dioxide, a biological gas necessary for the existence of life, is somehow a dangerous and harmful pollutant. The EPA’s endangerment finding itself endangers the future of the U.S. economy, which relies on carbon energy consumption to fuel transportation, heating, and other essentials, and Texas’ fight must be joined by other states.
“States must continue to push back against the overreach of the Obama Administration in federal court, whether against the off-shore drilling moratorium, the EPA endangerment finding, the individual mandate under ObamaCare, or the latest mandatory state participation in the $10 billion education fund.
“This isn’t merely a matter of overregulation by government. This is about a consistent pattern by the Obama Administration to usurp and destroy the states as legitimate institutions enjoying the consent of the governed. Texas Governor Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott are leading the charge to make certain that states will remain relevant in our federal system of government, and not run roughshod over. These usurpations will only continue unless the states reassert their sovereignty and remain determined to fight to protect the rights of their citizens.”
Attachments:
Brief Filed by State of Texas Against Off-shore Drilling Moratorium, August 11th, 2010.
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
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